THIJRMAN L GAUSE
OLAF (BUD) THORSEN
CLARA S CARTER
GEORGE F. WILSON
DONNA M BAXTER
USTON HAWES
ELIZABETH G. MCCRODDEN
JOHN M. TYSON
TOM ALDRIDGE
G. PHILLIP DAVID
WAYNE LONG
FRANCES LUOLUM BABSON
LFS1 IF fyn i ico
ROBERT" D. (BOB) SLOCKETT
S.LDOTY
DONALD SHAW
SUMMARY
JERRY DOVE
RONALDHEWETT
JOHN MARLOW
BILL SISK
RANDY STANLEY
DON WARREN
LOUIE A LEWIS
WAYLAND VEREEN
?074
TOMB RABONSR
TOM SIMMONS
err com mt i
MICHAEL A BALLARO
DAN DAVIS
95 09 ! 192 102 ,149 2 31 3.193
i i rrrij i:
ifi 57 ! es ! n ! ?*? '
R.C. SOLES JR.
RON TAYLOR
I DEWEY L HILL
E.DAVID REDWINE
ROBERT C. ANDERSON
JIM COOPER
Vereen Files Lawsuit Against County
(Continued From Page 1-A)
tions from the budget including
Vereen's and Alexander's.
Vcrcen was earning an annual
salary of S 24.0 16 at the time of his
dismissal, according to county
Personnel Officer Starrie Grissett.
In a letter from CI egg dated June
18, 1991, Vereen was given two
weeks notice that his job had been
cut from the budget as part of "a re
duction in force."
Interviewed after the budget
workshop, commissioners who sup
ported the action said they were fol
lowing the recommendations of an
iadepeadcat study of water depart
ment operations Chairman Holden
said the action was taken to elimi
nate top-heaviness in county depart
ments.
"With less than SO employees,
you need no assistant managers in
the chain of command " Holden said
at the time. "I think v/e've had too
many people in the upper chain of
command for too long."
But the lawsuit filed by Vereen
claims that the three commissioners
"took their actions against (Vereen)
because of his political affiliation or
activities" and that "the reason pub
licly articulated by the board.. .was a
pretext for this unlawful discrimina
tion." It says they acted "wantonly
and maliciously and in knowing or
reckless disregard of (Vereen 's)
rights."
At the time of his dismissal,
Vereen was 41 days short of the date
at which he would have qualified for
retirement benefit* The eiiit elaim*
the county intentionally fired him
"in part to prevent (Vereen) from be
ing entitled to obtain his rightfully
earned retirement benefits with
Brunswick County."
The suit asserts that as a perma
nent county employee, Vereen de
served the protection of the county
personnel policy. It says Vereen 's
job performance "was entirely satis
factory" and that he had received
"no prior oral warning, first written
warning, second written warning, or
final written warning as required"
by the policy before a dismissal.
Vereen's attorney Sheila McLamb
said Tuesday that although the coun
ty personnel policy allows reduc
them the right to terminate a perma
nent employee without giving him a
chance to take another position."
She said her client was not given
that option.
Hit imtnnwl nolirv eavc that if a
? ? 0 *
force reduction becomes necessary,
"consideration shall be given to the
quality of each employee's past per
formance, organizational needs and
seniority in determining those em
ployees to be retained." It further
states that "no permanent employee
shall be separated while there are
regular contact with parents, chil
uavu Smm CumCSmaS, i ' iMMySSywM OS
a platform that supports plans for an
alternative school, increased site
MWNSMfOiraaM
EataMM mi Now. 1, 1962
Telephone 754-6890
Published Every Thursday
At 4709 Main Street
Shallotte, N.C 28459
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY
ftt? v?? tin w
Six Months .$5.55
ELSEWHERE IN
NORTH CAROLINA
One Year... 414.86
Six Months 47.90
ELSEWHERE IN U^-A.
One Year 415.95
Six Months 48.35
Second class postage paid at
Shalloae, N.C 28459. USPS 777
780. Poeimaafet, send address
changes to:
P.O. Box 2558,
ShnHotte, N.C. 28459-2558
baaed management of the schools
and more visible ?jfce to front
line educators from the central office
staff.
"It's been a long tour months,
the stale juvenile services counselor
said of his first campaign. Thuiman
and i both got out and worked hard.
I met a lot of good people and it was
a learning experience for me," he
said. "I'm looking forward to
November."
Thcrscr, csn?c out on lup in i4
precincts and Gause in eight. In
November he will run against
Republican Rozell Hewett, a fellow
Shallotte Point area resident and for
mer county commissioner
Retired educator Clara Carter
emerged the winner of a three-way
District 2 race with two other former
educators, retired music teacher
George Wilson of Supply and the in
cumbent, preschool owner and for
mer teacher Polly Russ of Stallone
She will run against Republican
Eugene Hewett of Supply, a long
time member of the Brunswick
(.XMiununity College Board of
Trustees.
Carter won 16 precincts, with
Pnrs rhiminn flw* Uyj in mr rj.
maining six.
"From whst I've heard, people
are really concerned about their
school s," said Carter when asked
about the results. They want to see
some improvements and thev are
ready to make a change to make that
improvement."
The retired principal's campaign
has focused on academic excellence,
improved relations between school
hoard members and commissioners,
and school system budgeting that
makes sure classroom needs are met
first.
At first Carter didn't believe she
had won, convinced only when an
other person confirmed the results
first shared by her husband Joe. "I
was a little overpowered by it."
Russ attributed her loss partly to
net hr.'i?2 h^avilv riiirinp
"" o a ^ ? ?*/ v
the prissry campaign and partly to
voter sentiment.
"1 think it's very important in
Brunswick County to politic visibly
and I did not do much of that. I was
busy with work on the school board.
"People want rapid fixes; with
two-year terms you don't get that."
Describing Carter as "an excellent
candidate." she said, "Losing to her
is not that bad."
District 4 Democrat Donna
Baxter was officially unopposed in
the primary. Liston Hawes, her
wouid-oe opponent, died too late
during the campaign for his name to
removed from the ballot.
The former chief civil deputy
from received 2,966 votes to
Baxter's 4,232, winning in Letand
and Bolivia precincts and tying with
the incumbent in Mosquito precinct.
Her Republican challenge; in
November will be Ash native Pat
Purvis Brown, a retired California
educator.
Incumbent County
Board Survives
Primary Election
BY ERIC CARLSON
All four of the innimhent rnyfity
I xm&issknctx "'he fsccd upposi
linn in Tuesday's primary were en
dorsed for another re election bid in
November as 31 percent of
Brunswick County voters went to
the polls.
TTjere will be no need for a runoff
vote, despite a three-way race for
the Democratic District 2 nomina
tion. Bill Sue of Leland was able to
pick up 45.7 percent of the 7.105
votes cast in the race, which was 5
percentage points more than the to
tal required to win outright.
Sue needed 2,843 votes to avoid a
runoff. He received 3,243, followed
by Michael Ballard with 2,681 and
Dan Davis with 1,181 votes.
County Commissioners Chairman
Don Warren of District I ran the
closest race, defeating Democratic
challenger Randy Stanley by a mar
i at/y tn "? "f
voting in 17 precincis, while Stanley
won five.
District 3 Democratic incumbent
Way land Vereen soundly defeated
challenger Louie Lewis 4,555 votes
to 2,861, while fellow Democratic
board member Tom Rabon won over
Tom Simmons 4,369 to 3,193.
On the Republican side, a new
challenger for the District 3 seat has
emerged witii Leslie Collier edging
out the 1992 nominee Bob Slockett
by a narrow margin of 1,202 !o
1,116.
Former Calabash Mayor Douglas
Simmons had an easier time defeat
ing Frances Ludlum Babson 1,284
to 897 for the District 1 nomination.
The widest margin of victory
wcut tu lucuiviuciit OiiMiiCt 4
Republican Commissioner Donald
Shaw, who overwhelmed former
Leland Mayor S.L Doty 1302 to
65?
Only or-c Candida!? filed from
cach party for the District 2 commis
sioner seat, which was uncontested
in the primary. Incumbent
Republican Jeny Jones will face
W.A. "Alfonza" Roach in that con
test. Also gaining his party's nomi
nation without a primary race was
Republican candidate Pete Barnette
of District 4.
Warren said Tuesday he was
pleased to sec all the sitting commis
sioners renominated.
"It shows support for our leader
ship. "Warren said. "It shows that
people arc looking for sound fiscal
policy and aggressive leadership."
Verccn said he "couldn't be hap
pier" about the outcome and said he
wanted "to thank everyone who
came out and voted." He took the
victory as an endorsement of his ac
tions on tne ooara.
"It tells me I'm a good listener."
Vercen said. "Folks have a lot of
concerns out there and I've tried to
help as many as I could."
His opponent in the November
election. Collier, said she was "over
whelmed and excited" about the out
come and praised Slockett for run
ning a good race.
"i feci very honored iu be selected
as the county commissioner candi
date from District 3," she said "It's
going to be an uphill battle, but I'm
certainly up to it. I feel there arc a
lot of people who are interested in
seeing a change- in our county."
Simmons was also pleased with
the way the voting went.
"I lii jiisi aa happy u I C4UI *UC,
Simmons said. "I can't wait for
November."
Aldndge, Soles, Redwine >
Hill Take District Contests
No Republican candidates filed in
rr.iij.i -imi niy rar^c fnr District
Judge, i oii i District senate, and 14th
District House, putting winners of
the Democratic primaries in those
seats.
13th District Judge
Former assistant district anorney
Tom Aldridge of Whitevillc will be
come the i3in District's newest dis
trict court judge. Claiming 44.8 per
cent of the vote in the three-county
judicial district, he bested Shallotte
attorney and former judge Wayne
Long and fellow Whiteville attorney
G. Phillip David. Aldridge received
10,980 votes.
Long led the three -way Demo
cratic primary vote in Brunswick
County with 3,839 ballots, but fin
ished behind Aldridge in Columbus
~ nnmori r% rm >? l/\
tal vote of 8,238. David picked up
3,314 votes districtwide.
18th Senate
Incumbent R.C. Soles Jr. will re
turn to the Senate for an !Gth term.
off s DviTioC7itic pta?M?uy
challenge Tuesday by a persistent
campaigner, former House member
Ron Taylor of Bladen County.
The 59-year-old Soles, a Tkbor
City attorney, has served in the state
legislature 26 years and is presently
rl* nuty pro tsinporc of the Scr.sts.
Soles collected 14.564 votss in
Brunswick, Bladen and Columbus,
the three counties that comprise
most of the district. Results weren't
available from Robeson and New
Hanover counties at deadline.
14th District House
State Rep. E. David Redwine of
Ocean Isle Beach and Rep. Dewey
L. Hill of Lake Waccamaw were
winning easily Tuesday night over
I ru ? ? . r*-n
VJUII
Claude Spivey.
Redwine will return for his sixth
full term, while it will be Hill's sec
ond term.
Bond Set In Ash Murder
(Continued From Page 1-A)
an? ^TivrfpH Hlintfr C5?'(j A
jury will be asked to consider indict
ments against Cummings during the
next session of Brunswick County
Superior Court.
in addition to his first-degree
murder charge in Robeson County,
Cummings has been charged there
with first -degree burglary and larce
ny after a breaking and entering.
Hunter said.
Qampcnw r Aiiniv 2"thorititc hsvc
charged Cummings with possession
of drug paraphernalia, maintaining i
vehicle for kieeping a controlled ?jK.
stance, possession of stolen proper
ty, resisting arrest and two counts
each of felonious breaking and en
tering an automobile and felonious
larceny.
Chance Of Rain Impruves
Ketiet may be on its way for local
fanners and gardeners.
Shallotte Point meteorologist
Jackson Canady says there's a better
chance of rainfall over the next few
days than there has been for the past
several weeks.
He expects temperatures in the
week ahead to average from the
mid-5()s at night to the upper 70s
during the daytime.
For the period of April 26 through
May 2, Canady again recorded no
rainfall.
A high of 84 degrees occurred on
April 26, 29 and 30, and a low of 57
degrees occurred the mornings of
both April 27 and April 30.
A daily average high of 81 de
orm s sigfctiy averse issr ai
ft! degrees combined for ? uaily av
erage temperature of 71 degrees,
which is about 4 degrees above av
erage